Graco says it warned feds on bassinets

NEW YORK – Graco Children’s Products said that it alerted federal authorities that bassinets sold under its name were identical to some being recalled late last month, but federal officials apparently did not alert the public until late Thursday.

The incident was first reported in The Chicago Tribune on Thursday.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a voluntary recall on Aug. 28 for 900,000 Simplicity brand bassinets, because they had a dangerous design linked to the deaths of two babies.

Graco spokeswoman Stacy Becker confirmed that the company alerted the commission on that date that some Graco bassinets made until 2004 were identical to some of the models the agency identified in its safety alert. About 200,000 of the Simplicity-made bassinets recalled last month may have carried the Graco brand name under a licensing agreement it struck with Simplicity, which since has gone out of business.

However, those Graco bassinets were added to the Simplicity recall only on Thursday, along with a recall on some “Winnie the Pooh” motif bassinets licensed by Disney Consumer Products.

Julie Vallese, a spokeswoman for the CPSC, said Graco licensed its name to Simplicity and Simplicity made the bassinets. Disney also had licensed its Winnie the Pooh brand to Simplicity, she said.

The agency received confirmation Wednesday that of “900,000 Simplicity bassinets included in that number was product manufactured by Simplicity for Graco and for the Winnie the Pooh brand,” she said.

The Simplicity bassinets with the Graco logo were sold from 2001 to 2004. The Simplicity bassinets with the “Winnie the Pooh” motif on its bedding were sold from 2002 to 2008.